Uncrowned Community Builders

A native of Gary, Indiana, LaShawnda Jones has lived in several cities in Arizona, California, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin before hanging her hat in New York City in 2005. She is the oldest of four children of the late Terry Ann Stuart.

Ms. Jones earned an Associate of Applied Science degree in Marketing Management from Milwaukee Area Technical College. She went on to attend the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where she earned a Bachelor of Art degree in Political Science and French. While at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, she did a semester of study at the UniversitÃ?© de Sorbonne in Paris. There, her studies focused on the European Union and French civilization and literature.

Upon returning to the United States, Ms. Jones acquired interned at the Womenââ?¬â?¢s Resource Center located on the university campus. The internship entailed writing annotations of the Centerââ?¬â?¢s library books with the goal of uploading them to the Centerââ?¬â?¢s website. While working for the WRC, Ms. Jones also participated in programming and became attuned to social issues affecting women in her community.

In 2000, Ms. Jones was selected as a full-figure model for the Ebony Fashion Fair, a traveling fashion show. The Ebony Fashion Fair is a non-profit division of the Johnson Publishing Company based in Chicago, Illinois. During the nine month tour, Ms. Jones traveled to over 170 U.S. cities, as well as several cities in Canada and the Bahamas.

In 2004, Ms. Jones started a business, Jazzy Media LLC. Jazzy Media was set up as a publishing company with the goal of publishing an annual full-figure fashion calendar, posters, gift cards and her literary works. Ms. Jones published VoLux Full-Figured Calendar in 2005 and 2007. She published her first volume of poetry, Fantasies: A Metamorphosis of Sexual Attraction in 2005. In 2007, she published her second volume of poetry, ClichÃ?©s: A Life in Verse. Ms. Jones is currently compiling a collection of blogs on spiritual development for self and relationships for publication.

Early in 2008, Ms. Jones joined amNewYork as a blogger for their politics blog, Politirazzi. amNewYork is a free daily newspaper with a 300,000 plus circulation in the metro New York City area. Ms. Jones covered the 2008 presidential campaigns, primaries and election. She posted numerous pieces highlighting her take on the high profile spectacle. She has maintained her blogger status since the election.